I am inviting you to sign a petition, and here’s why:
“No one should fear losing their home because of the coronavirus,” HUD Secretary Ben Carson tweeted on March 18.
Well said, ditto that, and hear hear. The same principle should apply to renters and owners alike. No one who provides homes should fear losing them because of the coronavirus.
Without a doubt, Governor Baker and our other elected officials in Massachusetts have been attempting, in good faith, to protect the public by flattening the curve. But the cumulative effect of the orders has been devastating to the livelihoods of thousands.
I am not a landlord, but I have represented quite a few over the years (some tenants too) and know that they depend on rent checks to pay their bills. When tenants can’t pay landlords, landlords can’t pay the next people along in the chain of obligations, e.g. the cleaners, plumbers, carpenters, roofers, and electricians who keep tenants’ homes up to code.
Many tenants are losing their jobs and can’t pay rent, and the ripple effects are obvious.
Even if, looking back, it turns out that these measures really did help slow the spread of COVID 19, it is already clear that they have inflicted massive damage on families across Massachusetts. And things are likely to get worse before they get better. The Economic Policy Institute projects 125,000 job losses in Massachusetts by the summer.
People are out of work and unable to pay rent as a direct result of our State government’s response to COVID 19. Acting under the authority that the Legislature granted in 1950, the Governor issued a series of executive orders.
Again, most of us know that the Governor has the best of intentions in issuing the orders that are causing businesses to close down and shed workers. That’s a given. But when it creates a problem, government has a responsibility to fix it. Here’s one way, and if you agree please sign the petition:
Surety Bonds
The Commonwealth should immediately stand as surety for renters who now—because of those executive orders—cannot afford to pay rent. It was the Governor—not landlords—who issued those orders, and it was the Legislature—not landlords—that granted the Governor the legal authority to issue them.
In order to safeguard homes during and after the emergency, the Legislature needs to act now and issue surety bonds.
A surety bond is a guarantee that if one party to a contract does not perform its obligations (e.g. fails to make timely payments) an outsider will pick up some or all of the tab so that the other party to the contract does not lose out. It is a way to insure against loss. Some insurance companies offer this kind of product to landlords.
But now is hardly the time to try to buy surety bonds. The peril is already manifest. Instead, in the interests of social cohesion and stability, State government needs to act as insurer and guarantee the rent. After all, this is not an instance of market failure, but rather government failure.
If you agree that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts needs to guarantee rental payments during this crisis, please sign this petition.
The Massachusetts Legislature can make this happen. Our Constitution vests the sole authority to initiate money bills, the so-called power of the purse, in the House of Representatives, and the Speaker of the House should act immediately. He has the power to push the necessary legislation through.
Sign the Petition
COVID 19 has thrown us a curve ball, and we all — owners and renters alike — are in need of one heck of a batter.
Mr. Speaker, you’re up.
To call on the Speaker to issue surety bonds to guarantee people’s rent, sign the petition today.
Peter Vickery, Esq., 